KANTIBHAI MOTIBHAI LIMBACHIYA Vs. GANESHLAL AMBALAL SONI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BEING aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order rendered by the Ld. Judicial Magistrate First Class, Navsari, [for short 'the Ld. Magistrate'] on 19/12/1996 in Criminal Case No. 4091 of 1992, the original complainant -Food Inspector Mr. K M Limbachiya preferred this appeal under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure [for short 'Cr. P.C']. By virtue of the impugned judgment and order, the Ld. Magistrate was pleased to acquit the original accused Nos. 1 and 2, who are respondents Nos. 1 and 2 herein, from the charge of commission of offence punishable under Section 16 read with Section 7 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act [for short 'the Act'].

(2.) THE prosecution case, in nutshell, is as under:

(3.) LD . Advocate Mr. Patel for the appellant submitted that the trial Court recorded the acquittal mainly on the ground that the Public Analyst did not sign the report of analysis on the date on which the analysis was made. It is submitted that this Court in the case of State of Gujarat v. Vishramdas Virumal reported in held that the report of the Public Analyst cannot be ignored without examining the Public Analyst as a witness either by the Court or the accused raising the doubt about the correctness of the report only on the ground that the report is signed by the Public Analyst later on and not on the date on which sample was analyzed. My attention was also drawn to the decision rendered in the case of Kantibhai Motibhai Limbachiya v. Amratlal Nyalchand Shah decided by this Court on 29/12/2008 in Criminal Appeal No. 259 of 1998 and other allied appeals. Ld. Advocate Mr. Patel, therefore, submitted that the impugned judgment and order recording the acquittal of the respondents -accused deserve to be set aside and the matter is required to be remanded to the trial Court to consider this part of the evidence regarding correctness of the report of the Public Analyst. Therefore, it is submitted that the appeal may be allowed and the matter be remanded.